To date, there have been a few fake Google+ accounts that have been suspended due to the pseudonyms confusion, although, Google+’s diligence has also resulted in friendly fire casualties, although, these mistakes have been corrected. Just ask Captain Kirk. Now, it seems, Google is a lot more friendly with celebrities, especially once they’ve been verified.

Accounts for favorite movie characters have also been removed–right Emperor Palpatine and Lord Vader?–but it seems as if Google has relaxed its stance on the true identity thing, at least in regards to these Darth Vader accounts, here and here. Warning, the second one is NSFW, due to the images being posted.

As for this particular Darth Vader account, I have to wonder, thanks to the Batman Bin Suparman guy, if that’s not his actual name.

Anyway, these accounts demonstrate that Google’s vigilance doesn’t exactly match Schmidt’s true identity convictions. Be that as it may, Google wants us to use our true identities, and as The Joy of Tech showed us, their stance may prove problematic for some of the more super people in this world:

Click for larger image

One has to wonder, however, what these particular “Supermen” did to keep their Google+ account? Did they manage to escape Krypton’s explosion with better documentation? Or is Google’s “you must use your true identity in Google+” edict not as enforceable as their rhetoric leads us to believe?

Cavill, 28, grew up in the Channel Islands. This is a huge role for the young actor who has had smaller parts in films since 2001. You might remember him from the James Franco film Tristan + Isolde or for his role on the Showtime series The Tudors.

The new film that will feature Cavill as Superman is Man of Steel, set to be released in 2013. The film, directed by 300 and Watchmen director Zack Snyder, is commonly being called a “reboot” of the franchise.

Other recent superhero reboots include Christopher Nolan’s re-imagining of the Batman mythology. Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and next year’s The Dark Knight Rises are part of the well-regarded and highly buzzed about trilogy that put Gotham’s protector back into prime pop-culture relevance.

Nobody knows if Man of Steel will follow down the same dark realism route as the Batman reboot. One clue suggests that it might: the man who wrote the Man of Steel screenplay, David Goyer, is the writer behind the last three Batman films.

One thing is for sure – with Zack Snyder at the helm, we can at least expect something visually interesting.

What does Twitter think about Cavill as Superman?

The upcoming film also boasts Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, and Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent. Both Russell Crowe and Christopher Meloni are both rumored for roles.

What do you think about the look? And how do you think the film will turn out? Let us know in the comments.

Superman fanboy Thomas Denton, blogger and charitable eBayer, was so grateful for the help his family received from Candlelighters during his young nephew’s bout with cancer, he enlisted a team of comic artists willing to donate their artwork, some of which featured depictions of Superman. We’ll call them Superfriends, just to be snide toward Warner Brothers, DC’s parent company.

Denton set up auctions via eBay’s charitable auction channel to sell the Superfriends’ artwork, all proceeds, minus eBay’s fees**, to be forwarded to Candlelighters. But all was not well. A team of WB lawyers crashed through the skylight and forced eBay to pull the auctions, citing copyright and trademark violations.

DC owns Superman, they said, and Superman’s not allowed to help unapproved cancer patients, not even kids. (Cue dramatic villain music, and raucous, menacing laughter.)

Denton acknowledged his mistake despite being "heartbroken," and refused to play the victim. He asked that concerned Metropolis citizens still donate to Candlelighters. DC wasn’t completely devoid of sympathy and "made a exemption" [sic] for one of the listed items—you know, just to show they’re not complete ungrammatical jerks. Denton will still have to foot the fees for the auctions not reinstated.

This story has an even sadder end than that. Denton blogs he will be shutting down his Superman fan site. "I’ve sort of lost my enthusiasm for promoting WB’s products," he said. All because WB (and other corporations these days) can’t keep its lawyers on a tighter leash. 

Can anything save Thomas’s love of Superman? Is it too late for the Candlelighters? Will Metropolis ever be out of the iron grip of the overly litigious?

Citizens of Metropolis, without Superman it’s up to you, and Denton has nine other auctions running at eBay, with a day left to bid.
 
 

_{*If in fact she is, as her jilted hubby claims, a "cheating, lying, adulterous slag of a wife," selling a person is pretty much illegal (and wrong) everywhere, especially on eBay, million dollar bids aside.}   

**No good deed goes unpunished, eh?